Shortly after I interviewed Rick Browne about his appearance on Chopped: Grill Masters, a pitmaster of my acquaintance named Doug Keiles let me know he’d competed on the show as well. I was both happy for and jealous of him for that. What’s really good for you and I, though, is that Doug let me pick his brain about his television debut.

I recently visited the Houston, TX studio of Eat More Heat, where James Wreck, David Martin and I discussed (among other things) the opening of their new Houston hot shop called iBurn, corporate saucemakers, and how things are looking for artisanal sauce makers in the fiery foods industry.

Starting yesterday, Food Network blew the roof off of its hit series, Chopped, with the first of five themed episodes dubbed Chopped: Grill Masters. Over five weeks, the show was based outside at the nostalgic Old Tucson Studios in Arizona. Sixteen grilling professionals from around the country faced off in this captivating Wild West showdown. Mark Masker interviewed Rick Browne about competing on the show.

I recently visited the Houston, TX studio of Eat More Heat, where James Wreck and his trusty sidekick David Martin produce a weekly live video program focusing on spicy product reviews, with a generous helping of irreverent humor. James shared his plans for a brand new hot shop he’s going to open, called iBurn!

The man is a machine, albeit one who still uses the same simple setup you see on television. Where the other 109 teams were all more elaborate than SYO (Slap Yo’ Daddy), he was the one walking away with the title. The guy’s got heart. He’s also really busy, which is why I was stoked when he agreed to answer my questions for this interview.